Soul of the Senju
by November Miracles
Summary: AU Sasuke wasn't sure what was more surprising. The fact he'd been saved by a dirty-faced orphan or the fact the orphan, who they had incidentally hogtied back to Konoha, was actually the son of Senju Tsunade. Old clan animosities are renewed with Naruto's return, and Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why the idiot had to choose now of all times to try to restore his broken clan.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the _Naruto _characters.

**Soul of the Senju**

_**Chapter 1: Pauper Prince**_

_June 9, 2012_

Naruto stretched out his arms in a lazy yawn as he flopped heavily onto his back. The faded tin can in his right hand jingled loudly with the motion, and he quickly righted it to keep the contents from spilling out.

Holding the can over his face, he gave it a lazy, little shake. The rattle of the coins inside brought a wide grin to his face. It wasn't much. It probably wasn't even enough to buy a cold sandwich, but it was _his_ – money that he had earned entirely on his own. Ideally, he would have liked his first job to be something more…cool. He was, after all, going to be the next Hokage! But then, how many Hokages could claim that their first job was _begging_?

Dropping the can beside him, he folded his arms comfortably under his head and basked in the mid-morning sunlight with a self-satisfied smile. If his mother could see him now…

"She'd probably punch me through the wall." Naruto finished aloud as he scratched absently at a small patch of mud caked to his cheek. But likely only after she'd completely flayed his godfather…

Naruto cringed slightly at the thought. For once, the man would be completely undeserving of the punishment. Well, maybe not _completely_, he didabandon him in the hotel after all. But he probably didn't deserve to have his head bashed in for simply taking his eyes off him for a few hours either.

Crossing his legs, Naruto sat up with a sulky look on his face as he rested his chin on his upturned hand. Great, now he was feeling guilty. But, it wasn't like he was trying to get his godfather in trouble for the fun of it (at least, not this time). He was doing it for a _good _cause. Honest.

"_Is that right?_" his conscience questioned. The voice sounded strangely like Shizune-nee's. "_Are you sure about that?_"

Of course he was! Naruto frowned. He was doing this to save all the orphans that were being kidnapped. Who knew what was happening to those poor kids?

"_Then why didn't you tell Jiraiya-sama?_" his Shizune-like conscience questioned. "_Why did you run off by yourself? It's not like he would have just stood by and said 'not my problem'". _

Naruto glared at his conscious. Okay, maybe there was a _little _bit of selfishness involved. Was it wrong that he wanted to accomplish something on his own for once and to live up to his namesake? It didn't change the fact that he was still mostly doing this to save the orphans.

His conscious was mercifully silent this time, but he still couldn't help feeling slightly anxious. Chewing his lips as he mulled over the situation, Naruto's face appeared unnaturally stony. Originally, he had planned to finish this business within three days, which would have given him enough time to get back before his godfather started posting up 'Lost Child – Wanted' signs.

At the time, he had thought: How long could it take to free a couple of orphans from some slave traders? The mission was going to be _easy_.

Except he's been waiting for close to _seven _days now, posing as a poor orphan, and there was _still_ no sign of the slave traders. He really wished the idiots would just get on with it and kidnap him already. He knew they were suspicious because he was new in town, and wanted to make sure he was an orphan before making their move. But seriously? It's been _days_.

Ruffling his hair in frustration, Naruto grimaced when his hand came into contact with his hair. Picking at a clump of muddied hair, he mourned the loss of his usual soft, blond strands. _Come to think of it,_ he mused, _I haven't showered since the day before I ran off. _He had honestly been planning to take a shower when his godfather's stupid bird had begun tapping on the window. He hadn't meant to intercept the message, but he had somehow ended up reading it anyway. Then, one thing led to another, and he'd decided to forgo the shower altogether in his haste to make it out of town before his godfather noticed.

Curiosity, Naruto conceded, was a horrible thing – especially in people who had a tendency to act on it.

Absently, he dug into the pocket of his pants and pulled out the small scrap of paper that had set off the entire series of events. Under normal circumstances, he probably would have left the message alone (he didn't want to risk the chance of ending up reading something _dirty_, after all). However, he'd noticed that the carrier falcon was different from the one ero-sennin usually used to converse with his editor. He had only meant to take a peak since his godfather never shared _anything _with him about what he did outside of 'perving' on women. But then, lo and behold, he realized he recognized the elegant penmanship on the unsigned note, and ended up reading the entire thing.

The last time his brother had wrote home (which, incidentally, was _months_ ago), he had been somewhere in Suna for a business deal to promote the goodness of cup ramen (his _hero_!). Much to their mother's ire, however, he hadn't written again since then. Supposedly, his business was doing pretty well, and he didn't have time to write all the time.

Naruto thought that was bull.

He'd always known his brother was too cool to be _just_ a simple merchant. The note, he thought with glee, proved what he had been suspecting for years. His brother was somehow secretly involved with their godfather's spy network! After all, if the man was only a merchant, why send a note to them (okay, maybe not _him_) about orphans being kidnapped off the streets of Tanzaku-gai? It seemed a little weird for a –

Naruto's head snapped up at the sound of footsteps approaching his little stakeout, which was conveniently located on the main road leading into the town. Convenient, that is, for getting kidnapped. _Yeah, I'm basically handing myself to them on a silver platter, _Naruto groused, _and no one's taking it. _If he was lucky, he'd finally be kidnapped today.

He wasn't holding his breath though.

"Sensei~," a whining voice reached his ears just as the odd group crested over the small slope. Odd, however, was putting it nicely. If people thought _his _family was mismatched, this group was downright _weird_. Some people, in passing, had commented that his godfather's hairstyle was borderline ridiculous, but at least his hair didn't stick upwards like a broom.

The strangest one by far, however, was the lone girl in the group. _Is the pink hair dyed or a part of a bloodline limit? _

Tearing his eyes from the girl's hair, he turned his attention to the two boys on the team (they weren't wearing forehead protectors, but he could easily recognized the formation as a genin team). Naruto conceded that they were relatively normal-looking. Well, one of them was. He skin was a little pale, but he'd seen paler ones (on his brother). The last boy, however, looked like he had attempted to cut his hair after getting smashed on sake. One side was clearly longer than the other, giving him a lopsided look…and was he wearing a _monk's _robe?

Naruto would have been perfectly content to let them pass without fuss. He didn't want to risk complications with a ninja team, after all, and he had learned through experience to be careful around jounins. Even though the team sensei had a dorky look, Naruto had a feeling that he was more capable than he let on. _Probably. _

But then, as if to spite his 'kindness', the lopsided one just had to throw it back in his face.

There was a loud _pow, _followed by a light _plonk_ and the sound of scattered coins.

Oh, no he _didn't_, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the mess in front of him.

Oh, _yes_ he _did_! The damn bastard just kicked over his can! Righteous fury welled up within him. Naruto liked to think that he was a pretty forgiving person on most occasions. But _this_…Fisting his hand in the boy's robes, he pulled the genin towards him and snarled, "Oi, you lopsided bastard, you better either be ready to prove that you're blind or be prepared to pick that up!" Well, he was pretty forgiving in comparison to his mother. She would have forgone the threats (leaving offenders without a chance to correct their wrongs) and simply pummeled them into the –

"Back off!" The boy twisted out of his hold, shoving him back and baring his teeth in an angry snarl. "Touch me again and I'll snap the bones in your –"

"Sora!" The sharp tone had the boy scowling darkly, but he backed off after seeing the warning look in his sensei's eye.

Seeing the mutinous look on the boy's face, Naruto had to forcibly bite back the urge to scream: _Bring it on, bastard! _There weren't many genin teams (much less a single genin) that could beat him in an all-out fight, but he had enough self-preservation to not pick a fight with a jounin.

"It figures the idiot can't resist kicking a _can_." the other boy sneered derisively.

Scowl dimming slightly, Naruto quirked a questioning eyebrow. Was the boy actually arguing _against_ his teammate?

"Sasuke-kun's right." the pink-haired girl immediately piped in, casting a shy glance towards the boy she was agreeing with. Despite the fact that she was 'helping' him, Naruto was left with the distinct impression that she honestly couldn't have cared less about what happened to his can. "You shouldn't –"

Another angry snarl from the first boy had her quickly backtracking and hiding behind the other.

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That was plain _pathetic_. Never had he been gladder that his mother and nee-chan were kunoichis made of tougher stuff than this.

"What? Am I hearing correctly?" the first boy taunted, a malicious sneer on his face. "Is the pampered prince actually lowering himself to defend _filth_?" Naruto glowered at the reference (he may be filthy, but he wasn't filth!). "Well, maybe I'll just tear _you _up instead."

"I'd like to see you try, _idiot_." Naruto was impressed by the perfect sneer on the boy's face that told, without words, exactly what he thought of the other. "Or do you want me to remind you what the underside of my shoes look like…again?"

As the two boys tossed increasingly violent threats back and forth, Naruto was surprised that the sensei only made half-hearted attempts at mediation. Obviously, he didn't think they'd actually act on it. However, Naruto had seen fistfights break out for lesser things than this, and had a feeling that they'd be at each other's throats as soon as the jounin took his eyes off them.

As the voices moved further and further away, Naruto was vaguely aware that he'd been forgotten. The prankster within him bristled at the obvious dismissal, but he easily crushed the urge to run after them. He was on a mission, he reminded himself. He was supposed to be under _disguise_. But, he promised to himself with a mischievous smile, if they ever met again after this, he'd make damn well sure that they never forgot the name 'Senju Naruto'.

* * *

Naruto hummed an off-beat little tune as he strolled down the empty streets. By his side, his dented can jingled loudly, happy to be full. _It'd probably be happier though_, he thought darkly, _if it hadn't been kicked hard enough to leave a permanent dent_!

Considering what had happened earlier that day and the fact that he _still _hadn't been kidnapped, Naruto was in a rather good mood. Of course, _he'd_ probably be happier if his stomach was half as full as his can. As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, his stomach suddenly grumbled in protest, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since the half-bitten bagel someone had tossed him out of pity.

Tilting his head upwards, Naruto looked at the position of the stars and roughly estimated the time to be around midnight. He doubted any food stalls were still open, but he absolutely hated the idea of going to bed on an empty stomach. Coming to a quick decision, Naruto turned and headed for the bar. Hopefully, he wouldn't be mistaken for a beggar and kicked out again. _Stupid prejudiced bastards_, he thought unkindly, remembering how the owner's smiling face immediately turned into a sneer after taking stock of his tattered clothes and muddied face. _I should have kicked his ass! _If his treatment was anything to by, this was probably how he treated all orphans and –

_Swoosh_

Naruto's eyes quickly darted to the left. The two figures darting through the streets could be considered rather fast by normal, civilian standards. However, to the trained eye, they were moving unbelievably slow. Slow enough to the point that he could easily tell they were the same two genins he had met earlier that day.

Heeding his instincts, he quickly stepped into the shadow of an empty stall. Not a second later, the silver-haired jounin exited the alley with his female student in tow. After taking a quick sweep of the empty streets with his lone eye, the jounin led the girl down the opposite direction.

Bubbling with curiosity, his stomach suddenly didn't feel so hungry anymore.

Deciding it would not only be easier, but safer to tail two genins, Naruto quickly moved down the street that he had seen the two boys take. It took less than a minute for him to catch up. _Way too slow_, he thought, a large grin spreading across his cheeks. Making sure to keep a safe distance to avoid detection, he quietly followed the two.

As the minutes passed, the two genins gradually moved slower and slower until they were practically dragging their feet. _What the hell_? Naruto though irritably. He was seriously beginning to regret choosing them over food. He was hungry again because they were so boring!

"Why the hell are you still following me, bastard?" one of them sneered, suddenly raising his voice. It had been apparent to Naruto that they had been arguing for some time now, but it was still the first time that he could actually catch their conversation. "I can handle this myself. So why don't you go back now?"

"Tch," the other responded, distaste dripping from each word. "Unfortunately, we were told to do this together."

"You expect me to believe that? You rarely obey sensei." the first shot back, casting his partner an irritated glance. "Oh, I get it." He suddenly crowed with delight, coming to a full stop. "You're scared of the dark! Are you afraid to walk back by yourself? Is that it? Want me to hold your hands, _baby_ Sasuke?" he asked.

Naruto wasn't sure what was so insulting (in comparison to other insults) about the term 'baby Sasuke', but apparently it was enough to provoke the other into attacking. After watching them exchange blows for a few seconds, Naruto was fully prepared to ignore the odd duo and head back to the bar. The idea of a warm meal sounded really good right –

Naruto tensed at the sound of approaching footsteps. The two genins were either too engrossed in their fight to notice or simply too irritated with one another to care because neither bothered to look up. Even after being completely surrounded by the men, the two were still focused entirely on each other. _It'd be cute if they were trying to stab each other to death_, Naruto thought idly.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot tonight, boys." One of the men shouted, finally drawing the two genins' attention from one another. "It's such a hassle, you see." he explained as if he had been asked a question. "Our base is pretty far from here, and it's such a waste to come here for one orphan. But our boss insisted that the kid would fetch a pretty penny."

For some reason, Naruto had a feeling they were referring to him. Of all the darn luck! He'd been trying to get 'napped for days, and they show up _now_. If the two genins somehow scared them off, he'd probably never get a chance to find out what happened to the other orphans!

"But now that you two are here, this trip is beginning to be worth it!" the man cackled, stepping closer to the duo. "This one especially," he said, pointing a whip towards the paler genin, and tilting his chin up. The boy batted the whip aside and scowled darkly. "His face is so pretty it makes the other kid look ugly."

Naruto glowered, torn between disgust that the freaks had been eyeing his face (with intentions of selling him) and irritation that he was considered _ugly _in comparison to one of the genins. Yeah, he'd seen the boy up close. Some girls might go for it, he conceded, but he was definitely the cuter one! _Focus Naruto_, he scolded himself, realizing his thoughts were taking a weird turn. This was so _not _the time for this. He needed to get in there and get kidnapped, dammit!

The man holding the whip made a motion, and the others with him quickly surged forward.

Blue eyes taking in the quick movements, Naruto was slightly surprised to find the two genins gradually being pushed back by the horde of men. _They're not simple slave traders_, he thought to himself. There were definitely ninjas in their ranks. Hired hands, maybe?

Purposely stumbling forward as if he had tripped, Naruto shrieked, "W-What's going on here!"

For a split second, everyone stopped as all eyes trained on him. Then, as if someone had pressed the 'play' button, everything suddenly resumed. Some men immediately broke from the others and charged towards him. Falling backwards, Naruto made sure to sit on his hands so he wouldn't end up reflexively retaliating.

He waited for bated breath as several hands reached for him and –

"Move, idiot!" A body was suddenly blocking his vision, fending off the men.

Naruto blinked as he stared uncomprehendingly at the pale face glaring at him. Did he just –? _Seriously_? Under normal circumstances, he'd probably appreciate the gesture. But he'd been trying to get kidnapped for _days _now! No one was going to get in the way of that now!

"No, we should run together!" he shouted, latching onto his arm and pulling him back. Well, they'd run together and he'd make sure he tripped on the way or something.

The genin – Sasuke, his mind supplied – shot him an irritated look. "Look, I can handle this. Just." He heaved with the effort to pry his fingers off his arm. "Go." He succeeded in dislodging two before Naruto latched onto his other arm with his free hand.

Naruto was aware the two of them likely made a ridiculous image with him clinging to the other boy like a leech, pleading with him to run when the boy in question probably wanted nothing more than to pry him off his back.

_Clang_

As Sasuke kicked one of the attackers back a few steps, Naruto secretly admitted that he was slightly impressed. If the boy could still manage to fend off attackers despite having another person literally weighing him down, then he probably wasn't as bad as he originally –

"Ouch, you bastard!" Naruto shouted as the boy suddenly elbowed him in the face. He couldn't believe he had let down his guard enough to be hit.

"Go, idiot!" the boy shouted, turning to pin him with a dark look in between one of his breaks. "You're only getting in the way!"

Naruto bristled at the insinuation, but brushed it aside knowing that he really _was_ being a pain.

Looking up when he sensed the other genin's approach, Naruto knew he was going to have to take drastic measures if he wanted to be taken in _peace_. If distracting Sasuke alone was hard enough, the two of them together would be unmanageable. Just as he was contemplating grabbing both genins and running (and then ditching them somewhere before heading back to confront the slave traders), the other genin – Sora, if he remembered correctly – suddenly shot the entire plan to hell.

"What are you doing –?"

_Bam_

"What the –" Naruto shouted, reflexively reaching out to catch the body slumping towards him. He barely caught the delighted look on the other genin's face as he zipped past them before he suddenly found himself surrounded, locked in place by various weapons.

_Well, this is great_. He thought sarcastically. He'd finally got his wish and got kidnapped.

He just wished he'd accomplished it without extra baggage.

Looking down at the slumped form in his arms, Naruto couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of anger. Not at the boy slumped in his arms. Sure, he'd put a wrench in his plans, but he had confidence he'd be able to save them both after accomplishing his self-appointed mission.

No, he was _disgusted_ by the other genin.

He'd never had teammates before because he wasn't an official ninja, but he'd heard stories from his godfather. Weren't teammates supposed to work together, supporting each other? Sure, they argued and fought. But to think one would actually betray the other?

It was unthinkable.

* * *

TBC

Author's Note: Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed this and would like me to continue. I'm open to constructive criticism as well. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the _Naruto _characters.

**Soul of the Senju**

_**Chapter 2: Coming to Compromises**_

_June 14, 2012_

_Bump. _

Sasuke shifted with discomfort as he was jostled again. Silently, he swore if the cart rolled over another patch of uneven earth, he'd _katon_ the whole thing. Half drugged and unimaginably groggy, it didn't even occur to him that the entire situation was a little strange, and that he shouldn't even be in a cart in the first place. At the moment though, all he knew was that there was a blossoming ache behind his eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep the headache away.

_Bump. _

Unfortunately, like a sick parody of his life, the road was filled with seemingly endless bumps and obstacles. He wasn't sure how long he existed in this state between sleep and wakefulness, but just when he thought the road was finally beginning to even out, the cart suddenly screeched to a full stop. Sent careening to the other side of the cart, he barely suppressed the urge to hiss when his forehead collided soundly with the metal railing. Then, as if to add insult to injury, he became the mat that cushioned someone else's fall.

It was only after he tried to kick out at the person on top of him that he finally realized he'd been tightly bound with a thick coil of rope, snapping both his arms and legs close together.

Oblivious (or indifferent) to their discomfort, an imposing voice that belonged presumably to the leader immediately took control, directing half the men to set up camp, and the other half to get dinner ready. Even amidst the cacophony of noise, however, one voice stood out loud and clear. It was annoyingly screechy and louder than all the other noise combined. The reason, Sasuke thought irritably, could probably be attributed to the fact that the idiot was screaming right next to his ear.

"Oi, you dunderheads, don't suddenly stop without any warning!"

The voice was disturbingly familiar, and he instantly found himself irrationally annoyedby it.

"Look what you did to him!"

The voice was too male to be Sakura (although if it had been hers, it would've partly explained his immediate irritation to the sound of it). It couldn't be Kakashi either because the voice was too emotional to fit the laid-back jounin. That and Sasuke had a hard time accepting the idea that any self-respecting jounin could ever scream in this fashion. It could've been Sora – he certainly hated him and his voice enough – but he was hesitant to think his reluctant teammate would ever express concern on his behalf (even false ones).

"His head smacked like _wham _against the side!" There was a sharp jab in his gut as the speaker rolled off of him. Sasuke swore he was going to kill the idiot – whoever he was – after this. "I swear I heard his brain flop – _twice –_ in there!"

_What the hell?_

"What if he gets amnesia? Or worse, brain damage?"

"Yeah?" a gruff voice shot out. "And why the hell should we care?" The noise around them quickly quieted – most likely in anticipation of the verbal exchange between the two idiots. "For that matter, why the _hell _do _you _care? You can't possibly know him _that_ well."

"Uh, yeah, of course I don't _know _him." There was a nervous tint in the voice that had Sasuke somewhat suspicious. "Anyway, of course you guys should care! What if this really _did_ knock a few screws loose? He could end up a complete nutter! Even with a pretty face, how many people do you think are going to pay full price for a veggie?"

_Veggie? _Sasuke mentally sputtered.

"…"

There was a long pause. At last, someone meekly pointed out: "He's kinda got a point, boss."

The leader immediately lashed back with an angry scowl "No one asked you for your opinion, and who told you guys to stop? Get back to work!" There was a series of loud shuffles as everyone hurriedly dispersed, scurrying off in different directions. "And you," the leader growled. "I don't want to hear another peep from you, got it?"

"Crystal, boss!"

Sasuke could practically hear the man's veins throb. "Don't call me boss, you fool! You're our slave. _Slave_, got that?"

As the angry footsteps departed, Sasuke was suddenly filled with a sense of dread. "So…" The voice trailed, sounding way too close to his person for comfort. Close enough that Sasuke could practically feel the boy's breath fanning across his face. _Eugh… _

Eyes snapping open, Sasuke was immediately greeted with a grinning face...inches from his own. Glaring, _hard_, he tried to snarl. However, all that came out was a weak cough that sounded like he was choking on sand.

"You okay?"

_What do you think_? He snarled without words. His glare must have conveyed his feeling because the boy immediately backed off, giving him his personal space back. Every now and then, however, Sasuke found the other boy shooting him slightly nervous and guilty looks. The nervousness he could understand, but guilt? Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke silently scrutinized the muddy face that seemed oddly familiar for someone he shouldn't even know…

And then, all at once, he _remembered_.

"_You…_" he snarled, his voice coming out slightly garbled due to disuse. The point, however, came across loud and clear despite his lack of eloquence. _It's because of YOU that I'm here at all! _ The street urchin's eyes widened in alarm, and Sasuke vindictively soaked in the pleasure of seeing the idiot squirm.

The boy, probably in hopes of distracting him, quickly turned and shouted, "Oi, boss, what's for dinner? I'm starving!"

"Do you _ever _shut up, brat?" The snarled words had the orphan grinning cheekily in response. "And who the hell said I was going to feed you at all?"

"But I'm _hungry_!" the boy whined shamelessly with his bottom lip jutted out. "And if I _die_," he paused dramatically, "my corpse isn't going to be worth much."

An aggravated growl ripped through the clearing.

Sasuke felt oddly soothed knowing he wasn't the only one whose patience was being tested.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

"What do you mean Sasuke-kun's gone?" Sakura shrilled as she twisted her hands into her other teammate's robes. "Why didn't you keep an eye on him?" she continued, ignoring her instincts to flee in the face of her teammate's growing anger. For Sasuke, she wasn't afraid of anything.

Not even their monster of a teammate.

"Back off, you dumb fangirl!" Sora hissed, slapping the girl's hands off with enough force to leave a stinging, red mark in its wake. "And what made you think he was _my_ responsibility? Is baby _Sasuke _three?Does he need me to hold his hands on missions?" he spat.

"Take that back, Sora!" Sakura shouted, face red with fury. "Don't you _dare _talk about Sasuke-kun like that! He's ten times stronger than you'll ever be!"

"Of course, how could I forget?" Sora sneered. "He's the rookie of the year."

"You got that right!"

"But everyone knows that's only because his cousin – his _younger _cousin, by the way – had already graduated last year."

"That's because he…because…he…argh!" Sakura spluttered. "Quit changing the subject! Who cares about that? Now spill! Where's Sasuke-kun?"

"Weren't you listening, stupid?" Sora taunted. "I don't know, and I don't _care_."

"Sora," their sensei finally cut in, "Explain, from the beginning, exactly what happened."

"What?" Sora's eyes narrowed. "You think he's my responsibility too?"

"He went out with _you_!" Sakura interrupted, clenching her fists by her side to resist the urge to grab her teammate by the collar again. "Who else are we supposed to ask?"

"Sakura, calm down, Sasuke's going to be fine." He had to be or else he would never be able to forgive himself."I'm sure he can take care of himself." Kakashi hated how easily and quickly their team dynamics (the little that existed) had crumbed in the face of this mishap.

"Fine," Sakura huffed, muttering darkly under her breath about evil teammates and stupid teachers. "But Sasuke-kun better be okay!"

Sighing (and silently wondering if she would _ever _grow out of that stage), Kakashi focused his attention back on Sora with a considering look. "While Sasuke isn't directly your responsibility, per se," he conceded, "he _is _your teammate. Do you still remember what I had told you three on the day that you passed my exam?"

"…" Sora gave him a blank look.

"Of course you'd forget!" Sakura hissed with renewed anger.

"Those who don't follow rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are lower than trash!" Kakashi repeated, giving both genins a silencing glare.

"I knew it." Sora growled. "You're just like the rest of them!"

Kakashi stayed silent as Sora worked up a temper.

"You think I'm trash, don't you? That I'm a monster!"

Kakashi cursed the day he agreed to take on this team, and cursed the Hokage doubly so for convincing him to allow them to pass. He understood the purpose of doing so. Sora needed bonds to the village, and what could be better than forming close ties to classmates from his age-group? Except, he couldn't help but question what made his sensei think the Uchiha heir and his fangirl would be the best choice. True, in theory, if they the three had managed to get along, Kakashi could see how they could've become a formidable combination. However, as the case had shown, placing Sasuke and Sora on the same team was plainly begging for problems.

Add a fangirl to that mix, and it was definitely a recipe for disaster.

"Well, it wasn't my fault!" Sora shouted, face twisted in a combination of anger and…fear? "It was that boy."

_Boy? _Kakashi echoed in his head. He couldn't be talking about –?

"That beggar we saw on the way. He was working with the slave traders." Sora explained, suddenly looking much calmer. "After splitting up, we ran into our targets. We were going to come back to get you guys, but we were ambushed. The beggar tricked us into thinking he'd been injured by the slave traders, and we were helping him when he used some sort of technique to knock Sasuke out."

"That – That _creep_!" Sakura immediately shouted. "I'm going to kill him!"

"Stay calm, Sakura." he repeated. "Anger isn't going to help Sasuke. My nin-dogs should be able to track Sasuke down easily enough."

Sora's sudden flash of discomfort didn't go unnoticed, but Kakashi didn't bother to point it out. He wasn't sure what parts to believe (Sora had a tendency for exaggeration), but he wouldn't be too surprised if the orphan they had met yesterday morning really _did _turn out to be a ninja. The boy had been too alert (and his movements too smooth) to be a simple orphan.

This lent credit to Sora's explanation.

Yet, Kakashi couldn't help but be a little suspicious about the entire thing. After all, just moments ago (before he had come 'clean'), Sora had claimed he didn't know anything about what had happened to Sasuke.

In either case, the most important thing was to find Sasuke first.

He'd deal with everything else after that.

* * *

A full-blown smirk threatened to spread across his lips as Sasuke watched the idiot across from him repeatedly attempt to get a word out around the rag in his mouth. After the third time the fool had made ruckus, complaining that 'mother nature was calling', everyone had finally had _enough_.

After securing their ropes to make sure they wouldn't be able to 'escape' (Sasuke snorted at the notion that a ninja could be held in place by such plebian methods) and gagging the other to make sure the night would pass undisturbed, they had been dumped in one corner of the makeshift camp. Two guards had been set up, but from the way they were swaying from side to side, Sasuke had no doubt they would fall asleep within an hour or two.

More than anything, the entire situation was simply boring. There may have been a few ex-ninjas in the slave traders' ranks, but it was clear from their lackadaisical attitude towards him that they were probably no more than genins themselves. To be honest, he wasn't completely sure how they had managed to capture him in the first place.

Well, he knew it had something to do with the idiot across from him.

So, for a while, Sasuke simply took pleasure in watching the other struggle with the gag. Gradually, though, incredulity replaced amusement when he noticed the idiot was _still _struggling after two whole hours. Sighing, and deciding to take pity on the fool, he snorted, "Quit struggling, stupid. I'll get us out of here after they fall asleep."

The boy immediately began shaking his head back and forth in the _negative_.

Sasuke blinked once in an expression of bewilderment. He couldn't possibly be interpreting the motions correctly, right? Did the idiot actually want to stick around and be sold off? "Tch, suit yourself." he snorted. The idiot could stay here if he wanted. He certainly wasn't going to offer again though. "I'm not doing this to help you." Somehow, he felt the need to emphasize that. "I was going after these guys to begin with." _And why the hell am I telling him about my mission?_

But then, like a broken record, the boy began rapidly shaking his head again.

"You don't think I can?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes at the perceived slight to his ability. But then, he remembered he wasn't actually wearing his forehead protector. Sure, the boy had seen him fight. But then again, the idiot was exactly that – an _idiot_. Maybe he didn't fully understand the significance? "I'm a ninja." he tried, carefully watching the other's attention. Though, to be honest, he wasn't even sure why he _bothered_.

In any case, if he had thought the other boy would be awed (or even surprised) by the revelation, he was sorely mistaken.

The boy rolled his eyes.

Sasuke had to forcibly temper his sudden upsurge of ill feelings towards the orphaned boy. In the end, he settled for his most frigid glare. "Do you think I'm –?"

"Yeah, yeah," the boy cut in. "I know, I _know_. You're awesome, bastard, a kick-ass ninja."

Sasuke blinked. When had he –? _How_? Staring at his companion, who was carefully stretching out the kinks in his shoulder, Sasuke was suddenly left with an ugly and terribly unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't even seen the boy _move_.

"Look," Sasuke recoiled when the boy was suddenly in his face. Again, he hadn't been able to follow his movements. "If you wanna go, I'm not going to stop you. But you're not going to lay a hand on these men, got it?"

Sasuke's eyes instinctively narrowed as he asked coldly, "You're together?"

The boy rolled his eyes _again _as if he thought Sasuke was the stupid one. "You think I'd be sitting _here_ if I was?" he asked, holding up the ropes that had bound him.

"You got out of it easy enough."

"Yeah, so what?" the boy shot back. "If I was with them, why go through this at all? What's there to gain? They've already got you –"

"No thanks to _you_."

"Oi," the boy frowned, a somewhat disturbed look on his face. "I admit it's partially my fault. But in my defense, I _did _try to get you to leave. Plus, it wasn't like I was the one who knocked you out."

At that, the last memory fell into place. True, the idiot in front of him had been distracting him, but he had been hit from behind. He wasn't completely certain it was his teammate, but his attacker had certainly felt _familiar_ enough for him to be sure that his assumption probably wasn't too far off the mark. Eyes flaring with anger, he didn't even realize that he had raised his voice. "That _bast –_"

"Sh!" A hand – filthy and stained with something black – was promptly slapped over his mouth. "Quiet, do you want them to hear us?"

Jerking back, Sasuke shot the owner of the filthy hand a dark glare.

"Stop being such a prissy princess," the boy snorted as he wiped his hands on his trouser.

As if that did anything at all. The pants were equally filthy.

"Look, like I was saying, you're free to go. If you really need these guys for your mission, you can come back later. If you want, I can even deliver them to you after I complete my mi-_job_."

Sasuke could have sworn – no, he was sure – the boy had wanted to say _mission_. So, did that mean he was a ninja from another village? But then, where was his team? And would that make him an ally or a foe? Sasuke understood that there was no way he could truly know (all ninjas were trained to lie), but one thing was for certain. He was definitely going to _successfully_ complete his first mission out of the village, and to do that, he needed more information. "What are you trying to do?"

The boy gave him a considering look. Then, seemingly coming to a conclusion after a brief inner struggle, he answered: "I'm going to save the orphans."

So they essentially had the same mission with slightly different objectives. But he couldn't be certain the other wasn't lying. In any case, he supposed he didn't have anything to lose. "I'll help you." The words sounded strange, and it took a moment for him to realize this was the first time he had ever willingly _offered _to lend his abilities to help accomplish someone else's goal.

The boy blinked, his blue eyes widening slightly. "You sure?" he questioned.

"Hn."

The boy grinned. "Okay, but I'm team leader!"

This time, Sasuke was the one who rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he snorted while simultaneously crushing the urge to argue for the sake of argument. Though, it _did_ rankle slightly that he would be taking orders (willingly) from someone else.

"Well," the boy smiled widely. "The name's Naruto."

It didn't escape Sasuke's notice that his surname had been conveniently left out. "Sasuke," he reciprocated in kind.

"You have a last name?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Do _you_?"

"Touché," Naruto grinned, his bright smile as wide as ever. There was a lull in the conversation as the boy eyed him with a considering look that left him feeling distinctly uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what they boy was thinking, but if he –

Sasuke barely repressed the urge to flinch when the boy's face suddenly appeared next to his. Naruto's face was uncomfortably close…_again_. "What?" he demanded through gritted teeth. He refused to be the first one to back off. Seriously though, didn't the boy have any concept of _personal _space?

"Are you really a ninja?"

Sasuke hissed at the insinuation. "Of course I'm –" He reflexively recoiled when a stinging pain shot through his head. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he whispered dangerously under his voice as he glared at the two fingers that the other boy had pressed to his forehead. "Get your hands off me!"

"Ya know," Naruto began, grinning impishly, "There's like this _huge-ass _mark on your head."

Sasuke blinked, looking fairly horrified by the statement.

"Didn't you learn how to manipulate your chakra?"

"Manipulate my chakra?" Sasuke repeated, feeling fairly stupid for parroting the question.

"You know what chakra is?" Naruto asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Sasuke snarled slightly. "Of course I know what chakra is! I –"

"Well, then why didn't you use it to reinforce and protect yourself?" he asked, lightly tapping his forehead again.

Shaking the fingers off, Sasuke snapped back, "I was out of it." Naruto shrugged, seemingly accepting his response. Sasuke, however, knew that it was a lie. To be honest, he hadn't even known chakra could be used like that. Of course, he'd die before admitting that to anyone – much less the idiot before him.

"Okay, okay," Naruto held up a mollifying hand when his new 'teammate' continued to glare at him. "Here, I'll even heal it as an apology."

Before he could react, Naruto's fingers were pressed to his forehead again. But instead of the sharp pain he had felt before, the feeling was soothing. "What'd you do?" he found himself asking before he had even registered it.

"I healed it." Naruto flashed him another grin.

"You're a medical ninja?" Sasuke asked.

"Nah," Naruto shrugged noncommittally, "I just know some basics."

Sasuke nodded. He wasn't particularly familiar with medical techniques, so he was in no position to judge. Still, it _had_ certainly seemed simple enough…It'd only been a small bruise, after all.

"Anyway," Naruto excitedly waved off the incidence with something akin to mild impatience. "Let's just get onto the good stuff."

"The good stuff?" he repeated.

"Yeah, remember, my mission? I mean, job? Anyway, as I was saying, here's my plan." As Naruto leaned in to whisper his plans to him, Sasuke found himself automatically sharing his own thoughts and critiques. It wouldn't be until sometime later after the two had separated to catch a bit of sleep before daylight that Sasuke would realize he had actually been excited about the prospect of carrying out this mission with his temporary ally.

Naruto had an enthusiasm that was contagious, and despite his attempts to remind himself that rescuing orphans wasn't really _his _mission, Sasuke found himself arguing back and forth with the idiot late into the night, trying to convince him to alter the parts of the plan that he found to be too unrealistic. It was nearly daylight when they finally hashed out a plan that _both _agreed on. It'd been tiring since the idiot had been surprisingly bull-headed about certain aspects of the plan, but Sasuke felt strangely…satisfied?

Shaking the thoughts aside, Sasuke blearily refocused his attention on Naruto.

"Ya look like you could do with some sleep, bastard." Naruto grinned, purposely standing so he could look pompously down his nose at Sasuke. However, the effect was ruined when he ended up yawning himself.

Sasuke smirked. "Speak for yourself, idiot."

"Yeah, whatever," Naruto grouched, soundlessly flopping back to the ground. "Anyway, I'm going to try to catch an hour of sleep before we're forced back on the road."

Remembering all the bumps and dips that they had come across during the day, Sasuke paled slightly and conceded that it probably wasn't a bad idea. Just as he was going to shut his eyes, however, Naruto suddenly groaned.

"What now?" he asked with an air of long-suffering and exasperation – all without actually altering his tone or facial expressions.

"How am I going to put this back on?" Naruto hissed, holding up his untied rope.

Sasuke blinked. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Help me!"

"How?" he asked in a deadpanned tone.

Naruto blinked owlishly as he registered the fact that Sasuke had never been untied, "Oh."

Sasuke snorted. To think he had felt _irritated _(no, he was not jealous, he scowled darkly) at the _possibility_ that the boy might have been a _little_ stronger than him. Seeing the fool hop around now, he felt slightly mollified that his first judgment hadn't been completely off.

The boy was still a complete idiot.

* * *

TBC

AN: Hope you enjoyed. All comments are appreciated, and thanks to those who reviewed last chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the _Naruto _characters.

**Soul of the Senju**

_**Chapter 3: Matters of Opinion**_

_July 12, 2012_

"So what kind of stupid leader would send an idiot like you out on a mission alone? Your village must be pretty small if they can't even afford to send out a full team."

Naruto shot Sasuke a cross-eyed glare at the boy's newest attempt to glean information from him about his so-called 'village'. He swore it was one thing or the other. If the boy wasn't trying to trick him into spilling more details about his skills, then he was trying to rile him into revealing his background. _What kind of idiot does he take me for? _Naruto wasn't sure what delusions Sasuke was entertaining about his own information gathering abilities, but honestly, the boy was about as subtle as a herd of stampeding elephants (and coming from him thatwas saying something since he was hardly known for his subtlety either).

"Lay off the inquisition, bastard. I'm not in the mood."

"Tch." Sasuke glowered, turning his face to the side.

Naruto sighed as he tilted his own head heavenward, allowing the rain to drizzle lightly down his cheeks. The two of them had been forced into each other's company for close to three days now. For the most part, they got along. But then, incidentally, one of them would get bored and then they'd fight and argue for no reason at all. Usually, that wasn't a problem because Sasuke was surprisingly fun to banter with and Naruto didn't mind trading a few insults.

Right now though...

He sighed as his mind turned towards his self-imposed mission. He didn't like the idea of giving up on his first job, but he honestly wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to keep this up. From the geography, he could tell they were nearing the Land of Rain, and Ame was one of the three places he had been told to avoid at all costs.

Amegakure was best known for its endless downpour of rain. Most people thought the area was avoided because of it, but Naruto knew better. During one of his travels with his godfather, he had met a former Amegakure citizen, and the man had told him the truth. Amegakure was a place wrought with civil war, and the rain was the tears of its war-torn citizens. If people thought getting in was difficult, then getting out was guaranteed to be ten times harder.

Naruto sighed again as he blinked a droplet of rain out of his eye. Focusing his attention on the trudging group before him, which had since the beginning of the second day decided to masquerade as a traveling caravan to elude pursuers (the idiots were apparently smart enough to realize that Sasuke _wasn't _an orphan; therefore, someone _would _be coming after them), he couldn't help but think that each step was bringing them closer and closer to hell.

"Your face is melting."

Naruto shot Sasuke a baleful look. Of course _he _wasn't worried about anything, the _ignorant bastard. _Most people didn't know how potentially dangerous Amegakure could be, but he'd heard enough stories (which his godfather had confirmed to be true) to understand the seriousness of the situation they were heading towards.

_"_You're not looking too hot either, bastard." Naruto immediately shot back defensively. That was a lie, but it wasn't as if there were any mirrors (or girls, he supposed) around to contradict him.

Sasuke huffed. "It figures an idiot like you wouldn't be able to differentiate fact from insult."

"Whadd'ya mean?" Naruto demanded snappishly as he automatically reached for his face. "If you want to pick a fight, bastard, go find –"His fingers met something thick and gooey. It took him a minute to realize his 'disguise' had probably been ruined by the rainwater. He knew he should have used something more permanent than mud to dye his hair and dirt to cover his face!

For a split second, he panicked and looked up to gauge Sasuke's reaction. He'd been told countless time that he resembled his mother. The last thing he needed was to be recognized as a kid of Tsunade's, who he understood was slightly famous for being one of the sannin and extremely infamous for being a debt-ridden drunkard.

However, the boy was glaring at him with his usual look of irritation.

Patting his face and hair, Naruto grinned as he realized that his disguise was 'safe' since it really hadn't been raining hard enough to actually _clean _him. He probably resembled more like a mud monster than anything else. "Sorry about that, bastard." he chuckled, ignoring Sasuke's look of disbelief (the bastard probably couldn't understand how anyone would be happy to be dirty). Then, feeling as if he should correct his earlier slight, he tacked on: "You don't look too bad either."

Despite having been raised to resist such childish urges, Sasuke found himself rolling his eyes.

The boy was an idiot – plain and simple.

* * *

Kakashi's lone visible eye clouded as he stopped to carefully survey his surroundings. What had started as a simple C-rank mission to Tanzaku Gai to gather more information on the disappearance of a few orphans had taken a turn for worse when Sasuke had been 'kidnapped'. Sasuke wasn't the rookie of the year without reason though, so he hadn't been too worried.

But then, a day passed. Sasuke didn't return, and he had begun to worry a bit. He had contemplated going alone since it would be faster and easier that way, but he had specific orders to keep Sora close. Not to mention, he wasn't entirely confident leaving about leaving Sakura with Sora either. Sasuke might have been able to handle Sora for short period of time, but Sakura…

For the umpteenth time within the last three days, Kakashi wondered if he had made a mistake. He had sent Sasuke and Sora on that mini-mission in hopes it would help the two boys work out their differences and learn to work together. But maybe…maybe if he had paired Sakura with Sasuke and taken Sora himself, this could have been avoided.

Kakashi pushed the uncertainty aside. Although he still had some reservations concerning Sora's account of Sasuke's disappearance, he preferred to give his student the benefit of the doubt. Until proven otherwise, there was no reason to think things would have ended differently if he had sent Sakura with Sasuke instead of Sora.

Except for all her shortcomings, Sakura would never have simply abandoned Sasuke.

But at the same time, it meant he could have potentially ended up with _two _missing students.

Kakashi sighed. He _really _hated being a sensei. _But now isn't the time to be thinking about that. _Hearing the sound of labored breaths coming up behind him, he lifted a hand to halt his two remaining students. "Take a break." he ordered, watching from the edge of his eye as Sakura dropped gratefully onto the ground. It was a testament to how hard the pink-haired kunoichi had been pushing herself to be exhausted to the point that she didn't even care that she was practically soaking her clothes in mud.

Sora, on the other hand, looked fine for the most part. Physically, that is. But then again, Sora had always had the most stamina out of his three students. However, despite the boy's attempt to act nonchalant, Kakashi didn't miss how he looked ill at ease.

It looked suspiciously like guilt, but Sora never regretted anything he did. Not even when he had single-handedly broken all the bones in his partner's arm during a friendly classroom spar.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei," Sakura heaved between gasps of breath. "Will we…will we r-really b-be able to…?" There were tears in her eyes, and Kakashi didn't need her to finish her sentence to know what she wanted to ask.

"We'll get Sasuke back." he reassured. That was a promise. "I won't let anything happen to my team." Not again. Never again.

Despite his confidence, however, Sakura continued to look as if she was on the verge of tears. He didn't blame her though. Sasuke had been missing for three days now, and it had been raining since last night. The longer it rained, the more difficult it would be for his nin-dogs to follow Sasuke's scent.

That was the least of his worries though.

If he had been suspicious before, then he knew for sure now that they were heading for the Land of Rain. It was a good thing he had trusted his instincts and sent out a request for backup on the second day. Hopefully, backup would arrive soon. If nothing else, he needed someone to take Sakura and Sora back to Konoha. No matter how much he wanted to save Sasuke, he wasn't about to lead his two remaining students into the Land of Rain.

"I-I can go now." Sakura wheezed, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Sora didn't comment, but if possible, his face darkened even further at the thought of having to continue.

Kakashi eye-smiled, hoping it would put Sakura at ease. "No, we'll rest for a bit longer."

"B-But what about S-Sasuke-kun?"

"He'll be okay." Kakashi assured. _And if he isn't…_ His eyes hardened at the thought.

* * *

"Hey boss!" Naruto shouted, raising his voice so that he could be heard over the falling rain. Sasuke was sure the idiot had shouted loud enough to alert everyone within a ten mile radius. Did he _want _Kakashi to find them?

To ensure that their mission would run smoothly, Sasuke had made sure that Naruto understood the need to be careful not to alert his team of their location. As much as he disapproved of Kakashi's teaching method (or lack thereof), the man's reputation preceded him. The jounin famous for a reason, and given his speech about teamwork at the beginning of their team's formation, he doubted the man would just leave him behind.

Shooting Naruto a glare, he hissed, "Keep your voice _down_." To be honest, he wasn't sure why he cared so much about this mission. It wasn't even _his _mission. Not really. But for some reason, he wanted it to succeed. Maybe it was because this mission would test his strength and prove that he was suitable to be the heir of the Uchiha Clan. Or maybe it was because he hadn't felt this excited in a long time. Or maybe…Sasuke eyes connected with Naruto's.

He growled as he interpreted the look in the idiot's eyes for what it was. '_Shut up bastard and let me handle this!' _It didn't even occur to him that he had understood that from a single glance.

"Don't mess up." he huffed, and dropped it. He had come too far for the mission to fail now. At one point, when Naruto had been busy bugging the leader for more food, he had even made sure to 'accidentally' let slip to one of the guards that they were being pursued.

He smirked, remembering how well his advice had been heeded when – a few hours later – the slave traders decided to disguise themselves as a traveling caravan.

* * *

Naruto grinned as the leader marched up to him and glared at him with the same murderous expression that he seen on Sasuke's face. "Yo boss!" he greeted, keeping his voice lowered this time. He didn't want to risk being gagged again, after all. It had taken him forever to convince the leader that he would behave without the gag, and that gagging him was bad for his singing voice (or something along those lines). It was lucky on his part that the idiot believed him.

"What is it _now_?"

Naruto inwardly laughed at the tone of long-suffering in the man's voice. _Serves him right! No one kidnaps me without regretting it! _Outwardly, he made sure to keep a straight face as he asked: "So, where _exactly _are we heading, boss?"

The man gave him a blank stare.

Beside him, he heard Sasuke mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'you've got to be kidding'. But _hey! _He was a straightforward type of guy, and it wasn't like he had asked a difficult or compromising question that required subtlety.

"And why should I tell you, _slave_."

_Okay, may be a bit of subtlety wouldn't have hurt_. Putting on a hurt look, Naruto pouted. "Aw, but boss, I'm _dying _of curiosity." Unfortunately, the puppy eyes probably would have worked better if he wasn't dripping mud like a melting ice-cream.

Still, he had to try.

They hadn't entered the Land of Rain yet, but he estimated that it would only be a few hours before they crossed the borders. Before then, he had to know. If their destination was Ame, he'd abort the mission. He disliked the idea of failing, and hated the idea of being unable to save the kidnapped orphans even more, but over the years, he had learned that being stubborn and fearless wasn't always a good thing. Sometimes, it only ended up hurting those around him instead.

* * *

Kakashi crunched the note in his hands as he mulled over the situation. If he had thought that the situation was bad before, well…it just got a lot worse.

Reinforcements were on the way, but rather than a chuunin team (or even another genin team), the Hokage had sent an ANBU squad. It might have sounded comforting to some, but Kakashi knew that Konoha's elite would never have been dispatched for something as small as escorting two genins back to Konoha. Oh, how he wished he was wrong, but…

"Kakashi-taichou!" an owl-masked ANBU landed before him. Kakashi immediately recognized the man as Yamada Jiro. Before he had been _forcibly _dismissed from his position and foisted into his new job, Yamada had been one of his subordinates. It explained why he still referred to him as captain even though the title no longer applied.

Not bothering to correct the man, he demanded, "What's the situation."

Keeping an eye on the two genin who were watching them curiously, Yamada leaned in and quickly whispered the information in his ear.

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly as his suspicions were partly proven correct. "Where's the rest of the squad?" Unfortunately, the situation was even worse than he had assumed.

The Scroll of Seals had been stolen.

"They're on their way. I came first to brief you on the situation and to…" his eyes shifted to the two genin. "Hokage-sama wants you to aid in the Scrolls retrieval if you can."

"Understood." Kakashi answered. "You're sure Mizuki was heading towards Amegakure?"

"Positive."

For such a dreary place, the Land of Rain was sure popular. Kakashi sighed. "I'll keep an eye out for the Scroll." He'd help, but Sasuke was his priority.

"Kakashi-sensei…?" Sakura called tentatively.

That was his cue to leave.

Turning and giving his two genins an eye-smile, he cheerfully called out: "Be good for the ANBU." Then, turning to his former subordinate, he stated – in all seriousness – "Keep an eye on those two for me."

"You mean the Kyu –" Yamada swallowed his words when he found himself on the other end of an exceedingly cold look.

"I would watch what you say in front of me about my adorable students."

"Y-Yes sir!" Yamada bowed.

Turning, Kakashi quickly left, knowing his female student well enough to know that she would start a riot as soon as she realized he planned to leave her behind. Good thing he would be long gone by then. It would be up to Yamada to deal with the eventual fallout and breakdown (and he could say with certainty that there would be one), and if he failed to do so satisfactorily…well…there was an opening in the Academy now, wasn't there?

* * *

They were heading for Ame.

Naruto groaned. He hadn't dreaded something like this since his mother had decided he should go to school to learn basic reading and writing skills because she was too busy (being drunk) to handle it. That episode had frankly been a , but horrific.

At least he had come out of the ordeal with an important lesson: civilians were fragile and should come with a sign attached that said 'handle with care'. He had reached that conclusion after roughhousing with a few classmates. All of them inevitability wound up in the hospital with something broken (even when he wasn't fighting back). Of course, that wasn't to say he didn't like civilians. Most of them were extremely nice. But he would never want to _be _one, which was why he couldn't understand how his brother could turn his back on everything and choose to live as –

_Focus! _ He needed to get out of the present situation.

"What are you thinking about?" Sasuke questioned curiously.

"Sh," Naruto mumbled. "I'm thinking."

Sasuke glared. "Don't 'shush' me."

"Quiet then." Even after weighing the pros and cons, Naruto honestly wasn't sure what he should do. They weren't headed for Amegakure itself, per se, but it was still a gamble since setting foot anywhere within the Land of Rain was potentially dangerous. Silently, he grumbled, wondering why the slave traders had to meet someone thereof all places when the Land of Rain wasn't even their destination.

And to think of it, he _still _didn't know where there final destination was. Why were they even bothering to make a detour when –

_Pow_!

Naruto recoiled in pain as he was sent sprawling onto his back. "What the hell, you bastard!" he shouted, struggling back into an upright position. "Why'd you kick me?"

"Hn."

_Unbelievable!_ Naruto seethed angrily as Sasuke pointedly ignored his question. "What are you, three?" he demanded. "I can't believe you attacked me because I told you to shut up!"

Sasuke flushed slightly at the accusation, but made no move to apologize.

Watching blood dribble down his chin with a cross-eyed look, Naruto sighed and grumbled, "Fine, fine, forget it. I don't have time to argue with you. Just stay out of my way, bastard, okay? I'm thinking about something important."

"Tch."

* * *

"Hey Sasuke, I was thinking…"

"What?" Sasuke snapped, shaking his head a bit to move a sopping clump of hair out of his eyes. So _now_ the idiot wanted to talk to him?

"Geez, don't snap my head off, bastard." Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes at _him_. Him! As if it was his fault! The idiot was the one who had claimed he wasn't in the mood to talk a minute ago, and then proceeded to snap his head off for asking a simple question. "I swear you hold grudges for the smallest things. I was busy thinking, okay?"

"You've already said that." Sasuke sneered. He wasn't angry. Why would he be angry about something so stupid? Uchihas were above such pettiness after all.

"All right, all right!" Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry. There. I said it. Now will you listen?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Don't treat me like a –"

"Shut it, bastard." Naruto cut him off agitatedly.

Sasuke had never seen the idiot act that way, and subconsciously quieted to avoid irritating the boy even further. "Fine," he snapped, "I'm listening." At his words, Naruto promptly opened his mouth, but ended up closing it again without saying anything. _Now _Sasuke was getting a little worried because Naruto had never had problems with finding something to say before. However, he couldn't even begin to fathom what could have possibly riled the idiot to this degree. As far as he knew, today had been as eventless as the last two days.

He couldn't possibly be irritated because of the weather, right? It was just _rain_.

"Look, I'm not good with this whole being subtle thing, so I'm just going to come out and say it, okay?" The idiot was being stupid, but Sasuke nodded in an effort to get the boy to finish his sentence (so that they could finally end this pointless conversation). "Okay, okay, I'll say it. But promise you won't bite my head off until I finish!"

Sasuke's shoulders slumped slightly as he mentally rolled his eyes. He swore the boy was trying to grate on his nerves. If he wasn't utterly positive his words would derail into another argument with the idiot, he would have told Naruto to 'stop being a sissy' and simply spit it out 'before they all died of old age'.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but trust me, okay?"

"..."

"We need to abort this mission – _now_."

Sasuke's mind skidded to a stop as he blinked slowly. _What? _Of all the potential things that could have been said, that had been the _last _thing he expected.

"It's too dangerous."

It took a second for Sasuke to register he had spoken his question out loud. However, he quickly recovered and hissed darkly, "No."

Naruto gave him a frustrated look. "Do you have any _idea _what you're getting into?"

Sasuke was pretty sure the look of frustration on the idiot's face was mirrored on his own. He didn't care though because for some unexplainable reason, he was beyond irritated by Naruto's words. In a way, he almost felt…betrayed? No, _no_. That wasn't it. He just didn't like people who backed out of things at the last minute. "I didn't waste three days here because I enjoyed your _company_."

"I know that!" Naruto snapped, raising his voice suddenly.

It pissed him off to hear the idiot raising his voice to him. _He _was the one that wanted to back out of their agreement.

"But it was _my_ mission, remember? I never asked for you to waste your time. You're the one who volunteered!"

He couldn't understand why he felt like he had been slapped. So, he snapped back. "I'm not abandoning my mission, but if you're scared, you're free to go."

"Don't be a fool, Sasuke." Naruto growled, pinning him with his blue eyes. "I hate this as much as you, but we _can't_ handle this."

Sasuke lips twisted into a sneer as an uncomfortable feeling simmered in his stomach. Naruto's words hadn't been aimed at him alone, but it still felt too much like an accusation. That he was too weak. That he couldn't handle anything. That he didn't deserve to be the Uchiha Heir. That he was a pale replacement of his deceased brother. "Shut up," he hissed, eyes blazing with fury. "Shut up!" If the idiot wanted to go, then he could _go_. It wasn't like he needed his help. "I'm not like you." Despite all logical reasons to simply drop the argument and let the idiot go, it felt like it wasn't enough. Something was burning inside and he felt distinctly like shouting. He didn't though because Uchihas never raised their voice. He settled for barbed words instead. "I should have expected that a nameless village like yours would produce nothing but _cowards_."

Naruto's eyes flashed. For a second, Sasuke was sure the other would lash out at him.

"You know what, bastard?" Naruto hissed, easily slipping out of the bindings. He didn't even bother to check if anyone was watching them. "I'm done. If you want to stay, then _stay_. Don't say I didn't warn you though. Amegakure is _dangerous_."

Before he could get another word in edgewise, the boy was gone.

Just like that. He was on his own.

Despite the rain and the sound of trudging feet and creaking wheels, it felt strangely quiet. Maybe he had been in the other's boy presence too long. After all, if nothing else, Naruto had been _loud. _And now that the idiot was gone, it was silent.

Even as a horrible ruckus broke out around him a little later when someone finally noticedthat the idiot had 'escaped', Sasuke found that it was relatively quiet. It wasn't like he _missed _the noise (he absolutely loathed loud noises), but it was strangethat for once the idiot's ringing voice wasn't part of the ruckus.

No, he didn't miss it, but he'd gotten used to it.

* * *

TBC

AN: Chapter was a little delayed because I was on vacation, but I've posted it now. I hope everyone enjoyed and will continue reviewing. I really appreciate the feedback.

Also, again, keep in mind this AU. I'm doing my best to keep everyone in character as much as possible, but both Sasuke and Naruto have had different upbringings that have to be taken into account. That said, please let me know if I'm making them too OOC.

Finally, to answer two questions:

_**1. Is Sora the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki? **_The answer is yes. I tried to hint at it, but it wasn't meant to be a big mystery or anything like that.

_**2. Who is Naruto's brother?**_I'm not going reveal that yet, but everyone's free to take guesses. He's not an original character though so that should ease the mind of those with OC phobia. As for his importance, he'll have a fairly big role in the story.


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